Whether the player known as the Truth was telling the truth, only Paul Pierce knows.

And if true be told, the Raptors are already behind the proverbial eight-ball in their opening-round series against the Brooklyn Nets by somehow using this tank theory for motivation.

At the end of the day, defence, controlling the boards, limiting turnovers and making shots will determine which team will advance, not any media noise that becomes self-perpetuating each time the subject gets aired.

“For one, I don’t play for teams that go out there to try to lose games,” said Pierce on the eve of Saturday’s Game 1 in Toronto. “We didn’t care which matchup we had, Chicago or Toronto

“At the end of the year, we had little injures and we tried to rest guys. At the end of the day, we were going to go on the road anyway.